Anne Hathaway’s Verity Book Adaptation Is The End Of An Era

Credit: Steve Vas/Future Image/Cover Images Published Sep 29, 2026, 6:30 PM EDT Cooper Hood is the Associate Editor for all new movie releases, in theaters and on streaming. In addition to writing articles about these titles and upcoming releases, he also oversees content planning for each, ensuring that ScreenRant continues to cover major releases for months after their release. He has written various reviews for ScreenRant that appear on Rotten Tomatoes, coordinated Oscars and San Diego Comic-Con coverage, appeared on CNN to talk about Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning, and done select interviews with talent over the years. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Anne Hathaway has had a busy 2026, starring in major blockbusters like The Odyssey and The Devil Wears Prada 2, as well as smaller genre releases like Mother Mary and The End of Oak Street. Her loaded year continues this week with the release of her next movie, Verity. Hitting theaters on October 2, 2026, Hathaway's last 2026 movie is a psychological thriller where she plays bestselling author Verity Crawford. Hathaway has Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett as co-stars, as she reunites with director Michael Showalter after Prime Video's The Idea of You. On top of its star-studded cast, a big selling point for Verity is that it is an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's book of the same name. The New York Times bestselling author became a hot commodity for Hollywood in recent years, as several studios looked to secure rights to her novels. The hope in each instance was that the interest in Hoover's writings would translate to successful films. Four of Hoover's books were put into development as movie adaptations, and Verity is the last one to come. That makes it the end of Hollywood's initial wave of Hoover adaptations. Whether any more come will at least partially come down to how audiences respond to Verity's theatrical release. Hollywood's History With Colleen Hoover's Book-To-Movie Adaptations Nicole Rivelli/©Sony Pictures Releasing/Courtesy Everett Collection Hollywood's obsession with adapting Hoover's books can be easily traced back to It Ends With Us. The 2024 feature starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni became a global hit for Sony, grossing $351 million worldwide. That led Amazon to develop Verity, Universal to option Reminders of Him, and Paramount to acquire Regretting You. While It Ends With Us was a box office sensation, Hoover's other movies haven't produced as stellar results. Regretting You came next in October 2025 and made $90.5 million worldwide. Reminders of Him came in March 2026 and finished its run with $89 million. The saving grace for all the films is that they all only cost $25 million, making each a profitable venture. However, the quality and reception have not been great. All three have negative scores from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences have found more enjoyment with them. There has yet to be a Colleen Hoover adaptation that is an unmitigated success critically and financially; even the biggest of them became plagued with controversies and lawsuits. Colleen Hoover Movie Rotten Tomatoes Scores Box Office It Ends With Us (2024) 55% Critics / 87% Audiences $351 million Regretting You (2025) 29% Critics / 83% Audiences $90.5 million Reminders of Him (2026) 56% Critics / 87% Audiences $89 million Verity (2026) TBD TBD It's now Verity's turn to try and give Hoover's adaptations another massive hit. It has the starpower to do so and solid marketing to attract interest. Reviews have yet to drop and give audiences an indication of whether it is truly worth seeing. But Verity is expected to be a solid-to-great performer at the box office, as it is projected to have an opening weekend domestically around $20-$29 million. Verity's Release Will Help Determine Hollywood's Next Steps With Colleen Hoover Adaptations Credit: Amazon MGM Studios The importance that Verity plays in Hollywood's future can be seen by looking at the slate of upcoming Hoover adaptations. There currently are none. Studios haven't optioned any more of her books to become movies since the initial wave of interest around It Ends With Us. It seems that most are waiting to see if there is enough interest in some of Hoover's other titles to figure out if more should be adapted. Verity becoming a box office success would go a long way in ushering in a new era for Hoover adaptations. Hopeless, All Your Perfects, and Ugly Love are but a few of Hoover's books that could become movies next. Amazon could even look at some of these titles themselves to find a Hoover-based franchise. Perhaps Sony will even attempt to find a way to get an It Ends With Us sequel off the ground eventually. The chances of this happening decrease if Verity underperforms at the box office. Studios will be much more hesitant to bet on interest in Hoover's books translating to ticket sales if a thriller fronted by Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, and Josh Hartnett doesn't land. Release Date October 2, 2026 Runtime 117 minutes Director Michael Showalter Cast Brady Wagner Crew Crawford Writers Nick Antosca, Colleen Hoover Producers Alex Hedlund, Anne Hathaway, Colleen Hoover, Jordana Mollick, Michael Showalter, Nick Antosca, Stacey Sher